An Amazon delivery van got stuck trying to drive along one of Britain’s most dangerous coastal paths as the driver followed GPS directions on to mudflats to try to get to an island in the Thames estuary used by the military, the coastguard has said.

Rescuers were called to reports the van had been driven out on to the Broomway – a 600-year-old pathway across the flats to Foulness Island that has been called the deadliest in the country.

When they got to the van, coastguards found the driver had already fled to safety, and the vehicle was later recovered by Amazon, they said.

The Broomway can be crossed only when the tide is out. Dozens of people are known to have died trying to follow it – many of them now buried in Foulness churchyard – and the tide comes in very quickly. Its reputation led Edwardian newspapers to rechristen it “the Doomway”.

“HM Coastguard was tasked at 11.30am yesterday, 15 February, to a report of an Amazon delivery van that had driven on to the Broomway,” HM Coastguard said on Monday.

The Southend Coastguard rescue team said the Broomway route was “not for vehicles and should only be walked on with a guide who knows the mudflats. It is an extremely dangerous area and is on MoD property only free to access when the firing ranges are not active and barrier is open. The correct route on to Foulness Island is via the left barrier via QinetiQ security office.”

It added that its staff spoke to the security office responsible for the area, who said a driver and a passenger had been in the van when it was driven out on to the mudflats on Saturday evening.

“HM Coastguard’s primary concern was for the safety of the occupants and any possible pollution. With the occupants confirmed to be safe and the vehicle to be removed later today, Coastguard Officers were stood down.”

They said the van had been removed by 3.30pm on Sunday.